7th TakeSerhant Opens in Chicago With More Than 40 AgentsThe Quick TakeSerhant, the brokerage founded by reality TV star Ryan Serhant, said Tuesday it will serve Chicago and the North Shore. The office will have more than 40 agents and is in temporary space in Wicker Park for now. It launches with four founders from @properties and Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty. Dina Lissner, previously managing broker for Baird & Warner’s Highland Park office, will serve as managing director. Read more →Why It MattersSerhant first expanded outside New York in 2023 and is now active in 20 states. Locations in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Texas are opening this year. The Chicago market has already seen big moves. Baird & Warner acquired Dream Town last year, and Compass acquired @properties Christie’s International Real Estate in December 2024. | 📊 The Takes
Recruiting calls to Chicago agents are the common expectation, many trust local roots over a TV brand, and some just want a closer look at the AI platform.
📞 Expects Recruiting Calls — ‘A national brand just landed here with more than 40 agents. Every Chicago brokerage should expect calls to its people.’
🏙 Bets on Local Roots — ‘Chicago buyers hire people who know the neighborhoods. A TV name does not change that for me.’
🤖 Wants to See the Tech — ‘I want to see what S.MPLE actually does. If the tools are real, that is a reason to look.’ |
| 8th TakeNorthwest MLS Listings Hit Their Highest Level Since 2014 as Pending Sales Fall 15.1%The Quick TakeNorthwest Multiple Listing Service, an MLS of more than 30,000 brokers in Washington state and Oregon, said active listings rose 24.5 percent from a year earlier to 24,965 in September. Buyers had more homes to choose from than at any point since September 2014. Pending sales fell 15.1 percent to 6,231. The median sales price was nearly unchanged at 625,000 dollars, down 0.9 percent. Read more →Why It’s HittingMonths of inventory reached 4.44, the highest since February 2014. For every 100 new listings, buyers went under contract on about 62 homes, down from about 80 a year earlier. Steven Bourassa, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research, said prices can be slower to fall when conditions weaken, partly because sellers may be able to wait. | 📊 The Takes
Northwest listing agents mostly see sellers losing leverage, a sizable group is pushing buyers to shop now, and some are preparing condo owners for a slower sale.
🏷 Resets Seller Expectations — ‘With 4.44 months of inventory, my sellers are competing now. Pricing right on day one matters again.’
🛒 Tells Buyers to Shop — ‘Buyers here have more choices than at any point since 2014. I am telling mine to make offers.’
🏢 Preps Condo Sellers — ‘Condos are slowing the most. I am telling condo sellers to expect a longer wait.’ |
| 9th TakeNAR’s Meta Ad Test Cut Traffic Costs 29%, With No Word on Lead CostsThe Quick TakeThe National Association of Realtors said in September that it won a Meta award after testing Meta Advantage+ Audience against its standard ad targeting. Cost per landing page view came in 29 percent lower and overall campaign spending fell 25 percent, according to NAR’s announcement. The Close, revisiting the result this week, notes NAR did not disclose whether those visitors became cheaper leads or clients. Read more →The Bigger PictureThe test ran inside NAR’s More Than Opening Doors campaign, with Havas and Meta, and produced 432,000 landing page views. The piece says NAR did not share enough about budget, duration, or account scale to show whether one agent could expect similar results. | 📊 The Takes
Cheaper clicks without cheaper clients leave most unconvinced, some will test the targeting and track their own leads, and others will not spend their own budget finding out.
🧾 Wants Lead Numbers — ‘Clicks do not pay me. Show me what a signed client cost.’
🧪 Tests It Anyway — ‘If Meta finds buyers cheaper than my targeting, I will run it and track my own leads.’
🚫 Sits This One Out — ‘NAR ran this with an agency and Meta. I am not testing ad targeting on my own budget.’ |
| 10th TakeARM Resets Are Projected to Climb to 186,020 in 2027The Quick TakeData from Intercontinental Exchange and Optimal Blue project adjustable-rate mortgage resets will rise to 186,020 in 2027 before easing to 154,710 in 2028. There are now 3.1 million active first-lien ARMs, but they account for only 5.6 percent of active mortgages, according to ICE research head Andy Walden. ARMs recently made up more than 11 percent of mortgage rate locks. Read more →What’s at StakeAbout 74,000 seven-year ARMs originated in 2020 face a median payment increase of about 1,066 dollars a month, or 36 percent. About 65,000 borrowers with five-year ARMs from 2022 face a change of 430 dollars, or 22 percent. Post-crisis underwriting standards typically require borrowers to qualify at the fully indexed rate. | 📊 The Takes
Keeping ARMs in play for qualified buyers wins over most agents, others insist on walking through the reset math first, and a few are checking past clients for 2020 loans.
🔑 Keeps ARMs on the Table — ‘Lenders typically qualify buyers at the full rate. A lower starting payment can make it work, so ARMs stay on the table.’
📆 Spells Out the Reset — ‘Any buyer who takes an ARM hears the reset math from me before they sign.’
☎ Checks Past Clients — ‘Seven-year ARMs from 2020 are about to reset. I am looking through my past clients for them.’ |
| 👋 Until tomorrow, Agents.
CURATED will be watching whether the dip in rates lasts a second day. |
| | CURATED for Agents CURATED for Agents — the day’s real estate stories, and how the industry is reading them. |
|